Of course, TV fans have been hungry to learn who will be cast as the new clique of rich kids, but they seem even more interested in which of the old characters who left the prime-time schedule eight years ago might be stopping by West Beverly High or the Peach Pit. It's a challenge that executive producers Gabe Sachs and Jeff Judah ("Freaks and Geeks") have welcomed as they try to appeal to fresh, young viewers as well as their parents, aunts and uncles.

"We see this as a totally fun thing," Sachs said. "It's not the same show, but we get to have the element of such a cool, big hit. It's an honor to do it or to be able to do it. We'd love to have anyone from the old cast that would like to be on it."

In fact, there's been so much reporting on casting that it has become difficult to keep track of who has actually committed to the new show. Sachs took a break during the filming of scenes at Hollywood's Boulevard3 last week to fill in the blanks.

The show's first "get" came easily, Sachs said — Jennie Garth, who jumped at the opportunity to reprise Kelly Taylor. Kelly will now be working as a guidance counselor at her alma mater and will appear in a few episodes during the season, said Sachs, who has known Garth for two decades. Viewers will first see her in the pilot.

"Jennie is one of those people that when she does something, she always wants for it to mean something," Sachs said. "She loves helping people. So I thought it was perfect: her as a guidance counselor. Originally, we were going to put her on the school board but that was a mistake."

After reading the script, Tori Spelling expressed interest in updating viewers on Donna Martin's fashion-forward life. Initially, Sachs' idea was to have Donna own a boutique, but now writers are playing with the idea of Donna having her own fashion line. Spelling, who recently had her second baby, will appear on the show later in the season.

"Tori wrote me an e-mail after she read the script and said, 'My dad would be really proud,' " Sachs said. "That was the biggest compliment we could ever get."

Joe E. Tata, who played Nat, the owner of the Peach Pit, will appear behind the counter in the pilot and in episodes throughout the season.

"Nat! My gosh. It was such an accident," Sachs said. "Someone said they saw Nat in a store, so I called casting and told them, let's see if he'd like to do it. He was ecstatic. It's going to be a big deal."

What about Shannen Doherty, who left the show after four years because of on-set friction? It's still a maybe, though Sachs did recently have a 3 1/2 -hour dinner with the actress.

"But we had the greatest time. It would be a dream to have her because she's a dynamic character and it would be interesting to see what that character is doing now. But it's complicated. It's up to the business folks."

Brian Austin Green might be approached sometime soon, but producers have yet to reach out to Luke Perry, Jason Priestley or Ian Ziering. "Silver," a funky character played by Jessica Stroup, might be related to David Silver (Green).

"I guess we'll have to stay tuned," Sachs said coyly. "There's a lot of Silvers in the phone book."

NAVAL STATION NORFOLK — The Navy on Saturday commissioned the USS John Warner, adding a 12th Virginia-class submarine to the fleet and celebrating the legacy of its namesake, the retired senator who was hailed as a statesman.